Northeast will experience more severe rainstorms

If the Northeast thought it was done with the worst of the rain, it's in for a big surprise.

According to a study released by Clean Air-Cool Planet, a global warming education group, the Northeast will experience more powerful rains in line with those experienced last week. The study says the Northeast experienced rainstorms resulting in 3 to 8 inches of rain three times in February and March. The region experienced flooding that caused massive amounts of damage to homes, businesses and roads.

After examining National Weather Service data spanning 60 years, the study shows that the Northeast can expect more rainstorms that produce at least an inch of rain a day. Bill Burtis, a spokesman for Clean Air-Cool Planet, told Insurance Journal that "it's almost like 1 inch of rainfall has become pretty common these days.''

The study results say global warming could be a likely cause in the increased amounts of extreme precipitation events. It also says flooding scours rivers, causes erosion, and brings pollutants into communities' water sources.

Insurance Journal reports there could be billions of dollars needed to make improvements to infrastructure if this trend of extreme rainfall continues.

Last weeks' storms caused a state of emergency to be declared for Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and West Virginia.